Stop cock

ABSTRACT

A stop cock comprising a cup-shaped body having three ports and associated spigots formed at right angles to one another, and a plug disposed in the body and sealed thereto above said ports. The plug has a downwardly depending, generally cylindrical wall which defines a recess in the bottom of the plug, the wall being slotted to provide openings alignable with the ports. A stiffening element is inserted in the recess to provide assurance of sufficient radially outward pressure of said walls against the internal surface of said body to seal off said ports when the plug is rotated to a sealing position.

[ Jan. 8, 1974 STOP COCK [75] Inventor: Charles C. Waldbillig, Columbus,

Ohio

[73] Assignee: Medex, Inc., Hilliard, Ohio [22] Filed: June 5, 1972 [21]Appl. No.: 259,945

[52] US. Cl. l37/625.47, 251/309 7/1972 Leibinsohn l37/625.47 1/1973Gore et al 137/62S.47

Primary Examiner-Samuel Scott Attorne yJames S. Hight et al.

571 ABSTRACT A stop cock comprising a cup-shaped body having three portsand associated spigots formed at right angles to one another, and a plugdisposed in the body [22 2] ii lltidclkns. andSeale-d thereto above Saidports. The plug has a l f f g j 31 3 l 1 downwardly depending, generallycylindrical wall which defines a recess in the bottom of the plug, thewall being slotted to provide openings alignable with [56] ReferencesClted l the ports. A stiffening element is inserted in the recess UNITEDSTATES PATENTS to provide assurance of sufficient radially outward3,185,179 5/1965 Harautuneian 137/625.47 pressure of said walls againstthe internal surface of 3,481,367 12/1969 Deuschle 137/62547 said bodyto seal off said ports when the plug is ro- Murphy, J1. X tated to aealing position 3,305,211 2/1967 Phillips l37/625.47 X 3,525,363 8/1970Gore et al 137/62547 5 Claims, 7- Drawing Figures 4fi d/ .i i4 2/ Z4STOP COCK This invention relates to a stop cock or medical valve of thetype employed for intravenous injection of drugs and solutions formedical and surgical uses. The present invention provides improvedfeatures over the medical valve disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,276,472.

The valve of U. 8. Pat. No. 3,276,472 includes a cupshaped body and aplug rotatably mounted in the body. The cup has three ports andassociated spigots by which sources of fluid and a hypodermic needle areattached to the valve with the plug controlling the flow of fluids tothe hypodermic needle. The plug has a recess which extends almost to thebottom of the plug and has slots in the side walls of the plug, theslots being alignable with the ports to permit the flow of fluid downthrough the slots and along the bottom of the body. The deep recess,with its bottom wall extending across the plug, provides a firm sealingengagement of the walls of the plug with the interior surface of thebody so as to enable the passage of fluids to be securely blocked whenthe plug is rotated to a sealing position.

An objective of the present invention has been to provide a valve of thetype described above with provision for utilizing the valve for theapplication of an indwelling catheter connected directly to the valve.An in-dwelling catheter consists of a thin tube and a trocar (thinneedle) slidable in the tube, the sharpened end of the trocar initiallyprojecting from the end of the tube. In preparing the patient for thein-dwelling catheter, the combined tube and trocar are injected into thevein of the patient with the trocar forming an initial puncture throughthe skin and vein of the patient, thereby permitting the thin tube tofollow the trocar and project into the vein of the patient. Thereafter,the trocar is removed, leaving the thin tube. This system, utilizing athin tube, has advantages over the use of a hypodermic needle, for aneedle, if. left in the limb of a patient, could cause injury to thepatient through the movement of the patient or valve causing the sharpneedle to make inadvertent punctures or scratches on the wall of thevein.

In accordance with the present invention, the thin tube is directlymountable to one of the spigots of the valve and the trocar is adaptedto pass through the body of the valve through the thin tube during thetime of injecting the catheter into the patients limb. There after, thetrocar is removed and sources of fluid are connected to one or both ofthe remaining spigots.

It has been another objective of the present invention to provide a plugfor a valve of the type described above in which the plug has adownwardly depending, generally cylindrical wall having openings in italignable with the ports in the body for the passage of fluid. The wallsdefine a deep recess in the body of the plug which permits the passageof a trocar between diametrically opposed ports and through the body andplug.

The need for the deep recess gives rise to a problem of slight radialinward deflection, under applied fluid pressure, of the walls whichdefine the recess. In order to create a suitable sealing relationshipbetween the plug walls and the internal surface of the body, theinvention provides a stiffening element located in the bottom of theplug. The stiffening element preferably consists of a disc having anoutside diameter equal to that of the inside diameter of the plug recessand a projection extending between the disc and the upper end of therecess to block upward movement of the disc which would tend to occludethe passageway between the opposed ports. The stiffening element furtherincludes means for locating the angular position of the disc withrespect to the plug so as to be sure that the projections are out of aline between the opposed ports when the opposed ports are interconnectedby the plug.

The several features and objectives of the invention will become morereadily apparent from the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view illustrating the applicationof the invention in an in-dwelling catheter situation;

FIG. 2 is a disassembled perspective view of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view through the center of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 4--4 of FIG. 3; and

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are plan views of alternative forms of stiffeningelements.

Referring to FIG. 1, a stop cock 10 is shown interconnecting a thincatheter tube 11 to a hypodermic syringe 12 and a tube 13 connected to asource 14 of an intravenous solution such as glucose.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the valve 10 includes a body 16, a plug17 rotatably mounted in the body, and a stiffening element 18. The bodyis cup-shaped and has three ports 20, 21 and 22 and spigots 23, 24 and25 associated with respective ports.

The body has an internal surface 26 which is generally cylindrical andmates with, in a tight fitting relation, a cylindrical surface 27 of theplug 17. The upper end of the surface 26 of the body has an annulargroove 28 which receives a sealing ring 29 at the upper end of thesurface 27 of the plug.

The plug has a generally cylindrical, downwardly depending wall 31defining a recess 32 having an upper end 33. The wall 31 has three slots35, 36 and 37 which are alignable with respective ports 20, 21 and 22 topermit communication of the ports with each other for the flow of fluid.

The plug further includes a handle 40 and pointers 41 all locatedexteriorly of the body. The pointers 41 are aligned with the respectiveslots 35-37 to indicate the angular position of the slots in relation tothe spigots, thereby advising the operator of the condition of the valveinsofar as sealing off ports and interconnection of ports is concerned.

The stiffening element includes a disc 45 and four projections 46 whichextend between the disc and the upper end 33 of the recess, therebylocating the disc at the open end of the recess. The disc has twolaterally projecting tabs 47 which are slidably received in the opposedslots 35 and 37, locating angularly located the disc in the recess. Theangular locating of the disc in the recess provides assurance that theprojections 46 will be out of line with the ports 20 and 21 when theplug is rotated to bring those ports into communication with oneanother, as shown, for example, in FIG. 4.

The particular configuration of the stiffening element 18 is subject tovariation without departing from the invention. For example, astiffening element 50 is shown in FIG. 5 which consists of a generallycylindrical member whose height is substantially equal to the depth ofthe recess 32, the element having a T-shaped slot 51 which defines theprojections and which permits the required flow of fluid and passagewayfor the introduction of a trocar.

A similarly formed stiffening element 53 is shown in FIG. 6, the element53 having a cruciform slot 54 which defines the projections.

The stiffening element 56 of FIG. 7 is employed in an application wherethere is no requirement for the introduction of a trocar. The element 56has a disc 57 and a simple centrally located projection 58 extendingbetween the disc 57 and the upper end of the recess 32. No locating tabsare required in the embodiment of FIG. 7. i

In the use of the invention of the embodiments of FIGS. 1-6, the medicalvalve with a thin tube 11 attached to it and a trocar extending throughthe valve with its tip projecting from the end of the thin tube isplaced on the patients arm. Preferably, the plug is rotated to theorientation illustrated in FIG. 4 wherein the port 22 is sealed off andthe ports 20, 21 are interconnected so as to permit the trocar to passthrough the valve. Further, it is preferable to have the spigot 24opposite the spigot 23 carrying the thin tube preliminarily sealed offby a cap of the type normally closing a bottle of fluid from which thedoctor f lls a hypodermic syringe. Such a cap is puncturable by thetrocar and reseals itself when the trocar is removed to prevent theescape of blood from the valve during the period between the removal ofthe trocar and the rotation of the plug to a sealing orientation.

The trocar and tube are introduced into the patients vein and the trocaris thereafter removed. The valve is rotated about one-eighth of a turnto seal all ports. The sources of respective fluids are then connectedto the remaining spigots 24 and 25, after first removing the cap fromthe spigot 24. Thereafter the plug is rotated to align the desired ports21 and 22 with the port 20 or to seal off the ports as required.

In the operation, the stiffening element 18 braces the wall 31 againstradial inward movement, thereby providing assurance of good sealingengagement of the wall with the internal surface 26 of the body 16.Additionally, the element 18 minimizes the residual fluid of one sourcein the body 16 when the valve is changed to connect another source tothe tube 1 1.

I claim:

1. A medical valve comprising,

a generally cylindrical cup-shaped body having at least twodiametrically opposed ports in the lower portion thereof,

a plug rotatably mounted in said body,

cooperating means on said plug and body respectively for forming aliquid-tight seal above said ports,

the lower portion of said plug being formed by a generally cylindricalwall which defines a recess extending above said port locations,

said wall having openings alignable with said ports to permit liquid topass through said valve,

and a stiffening element snugly fitting in said recess below said portlocations to provide radially outward pressure of said wall against saidbody to seal said ports.

2. A valve as in claim 1 in which said stiffening element comprises adisc disposed at the bottom of said Plug,

and at least one projection extending between said disc and the upperend of said recess.

3. A valve as in claim 1 further comprising,

positioning means extending between said stiffening element and theupper end of said recess, said positioning means being out of a linebetween said openings in said plug walls.

4. A valve as in claim 3 in which the openings in said valve are formedby slots extending from the bottom of said plug to the top of saidports.

5. A valve as in claim 4 in which said stiffening element has at leastone laterally projecting locator tab disposed in at least one of saidslots to block rotation of said element with respect to said plug.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION 3,783,900 Dated\January 8, 1974 Charles C. Waldbillig Patent No.

Inventor(s) It is certified that error appears in the above-identifiedpatent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 56, change "locating angularly located" to therebyangularly locating Signed and Sealed this 3 y of pril 197a.

(SEAL) Attest: a a

EDWARD TLFLETCHERJR. 0. MARSHALL DAI-Tifi Commissioner of PatentsvAttesting Officer QRM PC4050 0-69)

1. A medical valve comprising, a generally cylindrical cup-shaped bodyhaving at least two diametrically opposed ports in the lower portionthereof, a plug rotatably mounted in said body, cooperating means onsaid plug and body respectively for forming a liquid-tight seal abovesaid ports, the lower portion of said plug being formed by a generallycylindrical wall which defines a recess extending above said portlocations, said wall having openings alignable with said ports to permitliquid to pass through said valve, and a stiffening element snuglyfitting in said recess below said port locations to provide radiallyoutward pressure of said wall against said body to seal said ports.
 2. Avalve as in claim 1 in which said stiffening element comprises a discdisposed at the bottom of said plug, and at least one projectionextending between said disc and the upper end of said recess.
 3. A valveas in claim 1 further comprising, positioning means extending betweensaid stiffening element and the upper end of said recess, saidpositioning means being out of a line between said openings in said plugwalls.
 4. A valve as in claim 3 in which the openings in said valve areformed by slots extending from the bottom of said plug to the top ofsaid ports.
 5. A valve as in claim 4 in which said stiffening elementhas at least one laterally projecting locator tab disposed in at leastone of said slots to block rotation of said element with respect to saidplug.